The importance of welding is one of those things that we tend to take for granted.
What is the importance of welding? Look around you at the buildings, the vehicles, bridges, traffic lights and their housings- all of them have at least some of their critical structural components joined by welding. Just about every major fixture of modern life is constructed by joining two or more pieces of metal through the careful process of heating, joining, and cooling.
A Key to Our Economy & Infrastructure
It’s one of those things that we tend to take for granted. We forget how much welding goes on all around us every day, and how much we depend on the things it produces. According to AllStateCareer.edu, 70% of all manufactured products are made in whole or in part by skilled welders.
The president of the American Welding Society, David McQuaid says “Welding is an essential part of everyday life. 
From cars to high rise office buildings, airplanes to rockets, pipelines to highways, none of it would be possible without welding.”
According to him, there will be 400,000 too few professional welders by the year 2025. Without them, he says, the nation’s infrastructure and industry will no longer be sustainable. The answer, McQuaid says, is to encourage young people to pursue welding by educating them about the many benefits of the trade.
Welding is too often considered to be a low paying and poorly esteemed profession. But the reality is just the opposite. Professional welders make an average of $65,000 a year, and specialty welders working in unusual environments can do even better.
The Future of Welding
The beauty of welding is that it produces structures which offer utility and durability far beyond the energy needed to create them. The key to keeping the welding workforce strong is education. By informing young people of the benefits, the freedoms, and the esteem that skilled welders enjoy, we can ensure this important sector of the nation’s workforce remains populous and strong in the coming decades.